The widow of a businessman killed in a yacht tragedy has settled her claim for damages.

Peter Curry, 44, died with friend Alan Barwick, 54, on a pleasure trip on the Signature yacht captained by Colin Jessey.

Today Mr Curry's widow Sue said she had reached a `modest' settlement with Hexham builders' merchants Matthew Charlton which organised the trip.

Mr Jessey was cleared of the manslaughter of the two men after a second trial collapsed at York Crown Court in January 2000. Both men died when huge waves partially capsized the yacht as it returned to Tynemouth.

Mr Jessey was put on trial after it emerged he went to sea against the advice of the Tyne harbourmaster and the men swept out to sea were not wearing life-jackets or attached by safety line to the boat.

Today Mrs Curry, of Ponteland, Northumberland, accepted the award but said she felt `let down.'

She said: "I am angry at Matthew Charlton for failing to accept at the outset its responsibility and for dragging it through the courts.

"I now want to close this unhappy chapter and move on with the rest of my life."

Mrs Curry's solicitor Jamie McCabe, of Newcastle firm Sinton and Co, said: "The case has been settled but for an amount far below the true value of the damages.

"Because of the legislation and technicalities there was a cap on the amount of damages which Mrs Curry could have been awarded.

"But the final figure did represent almost 80 per cent of the maximum amount.

"In attempting to defend the case and the actions of Jessey, they have put Mrs Curry through an immeasurable amount of stress. Mrs Curry's decision to pursue the case has been vindicated by this result. But no amount of compensation can bring her husband back."

Mrs Curry told the Chronicle about why she had begun her fight for damages in February 2001 after Colin Jessey was acquitted.

She said: "I was torn apart by the verdict. The only avenue left was to pursue the matter in the courts. This has been a very difficult time."

Mr Curry, director of Meadowcroft Estates in Gosforth, Newcastle, and Mr Barwick, a director of Northumberland building firm Barwick Brothers, were on the 46ft yacht with nine others in April 1998 when they were swept to their deaths.

A third man, David Knowles, also fell into the sea but survived until a lifeboat arrived.

Mr Jessey, 50, a professional yacht skipper of Shoreham, West Sussex, was cleared after two days of legal argument when Mr Justice Steel ruled it would be unfair to Jessey to proceed further.

The judge said constraints put on the prosecution by the failure of the first trial at Sheffield Crown Court meant the standard of evidence in the retrial would not be strong enough.

Ailene Charlton, chair of the Charlton Group, said: "We have expressed sympathy to Mrs Curry many times but our position is, and has always been, that Matthew Charlton was not liable for the claim and we were always confident that the court would have upheld this position.

"However, we were happy to reach a settlement with Mrs Curry on the terms which were agreed because this represented a sensible commercial conclusion to the matter."